The Law of Agency

Learning Objectives

Introduction Definition of Agency Creation of Agency Authority of an Agent Relationships with Third Parties

Introduction

Agency Law The large body of common law that governs agency.

A mixture of contract law and tort law.

Principal The party who employs another person to act on his or her behalf. Agent The party who agrees to act on behalf of another.
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Introduction contd

When people do business, they often deal with each other directly Buyer Seller However, sometimes they deal with each other using a middleman (or representative or intermediary) Buyer Middleman Seller

Introduction (cont.)

The legal relationship between the middleman and the businessperson is governed by the law of agency

Definition of Agency
The legal term for a middleman or representative is an agent The person who is represented by the agent is called the principal Therefore, in our example Buyer Middleman Seller If the middleman represents the buyer Principal Agent Seller

Definition of Agency (cont)

Definition:
An

agent is a person who is authorised to represent another person, who is called the principal. The agent creates a legal relationship between the principal and a third party.

Definition of Agency (cont)

Therefore, any contract entered into is between the principal and the third party, even though it is arranged by the agent The agent does not usually get any rights or responsibilities under the contract Therefore, it is the principal who must have the capacity to contract and not the agent
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The Principal-Agent Relationship

Principal Principals obligation to perform the contract

Agency Contract

Agent

Contract with third party on behalf of principal

Third Party

Persons Who Can Initiate an Agency Relationship

Any person who has the capacity to contract can appoint an agent to act on his or her behalf. Persons who lack contractual capacity cannot appoint an agent.

e.g., insane persons and minors

An agency can be created only to accomplish a lawful purpose. Agency contracts that are created for illegal purposes or are against public policy are void and unenforceable.

Forms of Agency
There are several different forms of agency A general agent has the power to act for the principal in all business matters A special agent only has the authority of the principal for one transaction A del credere agent guarantees to the principal that if the third party does not pay then the agent will pay.

The agent usually takes a higher commission for this

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Forms of Agency (cont.)

A marketing agent has limited authority to introduce potential clients to the principal. He does not have the authority to negotiate or enter into contracts on behalf of the principal A distribution agent is appointed by a supplier to arrange for distribution of the suppliers goods in a particular place.
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Forms of Agency (cont.)

Note: a franchising arrangement where one person allows another person to run a business using the original name of the business is not a form of agency

Eg McDonalds

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Creation of Agency
The principal/agent relationship can be created in several ways Express Appointment Ratification Implication Necessity Estoppel
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Express Appointment

This is the most common way of creating an agency The agent is specifically appointed by the principal for a particular task or a general function It can be done by contract, but this is not necessary What matters is authority
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Ratification

In this case, a person who does not have the authority of the principal enters into a contract with a third party on behalf of the principal Ratification occurs when the principal expressly accepts the contract later The effect of this is to make the earlier actions of the agent valid
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Ratification (cont.)
The following conditions apply to ratification 1. The principal must have been in existence at the time the agent made the contract with the third party This is not a problem where the principal is a real person, but it could apply to companies or partnerships which have not been formed
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Ratification (cont.)
2.

3.

The principal must have had the legal capacity to contract at the time the contract was made An undisclosed principal cannot ratify a contract In other words, when the agent made the contract with the third party, he must have stated to the third party that he was acting as an agent for a particular person

Even though the principal had not actually authorised him

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Ratification (cont.)

4.

If the agent appeared to be acting for himself, then the principal cannot ratify the contract later. The principal must adopt the whole of the contract The principal must accept the whole contract. He cannot try to accept only certain terms
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Ratification (cont.)
5.

Ratification must take place within a reasonable time What is reasonable depends on the circumstances If the third party finds out that the agent actually had no authority, he can set a time limit for the principal to ratify the agency
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Implication

Agency by implication is where it is assumed that the principal has authorised the person to act as his agent It is assumed that because the agent holds a particular position, then he has the authority of the principal to enter into contracts Eg: in Panorama Developments v Fidelis Furnishing Fabrics Ltd, it was held that a company secretary had the implied authority to make contracts in the companys name for the day to day running of the company
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Necessity

A principal/agent relationship can be created where there has been no agreement between the parties when there is an emergency and one person acts to protect the interests of another person. There are 3 conditions for necessity to apply

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Necessity (cont.)
1.

There must be a genuine emergency Eg in Great Northern Railway Co v Swaffield, the railway company transported the defendants horse When no one arrived at the destination to collect it, the railway company paid to put the horse in some stables The court allowed the company to recover the costs as necessity had forced them to pay for the stables
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Necessity (cont.)
2.

There must also be no practical way of getting further instructions from the principal In Springer v Great Western Railway Co, some tomatoes arrived late at a port because of a storm The railway company could not transport them to London immediately because of a strike
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Necessity (cont.)

The company decided to sell the tomatoes locally before they became rotten The court held that the railway company should pay the owner of the tomatoes the difference in the price between the price obtained locally and the (higher) price which would have been obtained in London The reason for this is that it was possible for the company to have contacted the owner for instructions before selling the tomatoes locally
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Necessity (cont.)
3.

The person who acted as agent must have acted in the genuine interests of the principal

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Estoppel

This form of agency is also know as agency by holding out It occurs where there is no actual principal/agent relationship, but the principal makes a third party think that there is In this case the agent has apparent authority and the principal is bound by any contract entered into by the agent and a third party who thought there was a proper principal/agent relationship
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Estoppel (cont.)

1.

2.

There are 2 conditions for estoppel to apply The principal must have made a representation that the agent had his authority The party who claims there has been estoppel must have relied on the principals representation
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Authority of the Agent

In order for the agent to create rights and responsibilities for the principal in a contract, the agent must act within the authority given to him by the principal An agent has two types of authority

Actual Apparent

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Actual Authority
Actual authority occurs in 2 ways Expressly By implication

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Express Actual Authority

This is the authority given by the principal expressly to the agent In other words, the principal tells the agent what he wants the agent to do and what powers (or authority) the agent has to do those things

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Implied Actual Authority

This authority covers the situation where a third party is entitled to assume that the agent has been given the power to do something by his principal, even though the agent may not have been give that power expressly In other words, a third party can assume that someone has the powers which a person in the agents position usually has, whether or not the agent has been given those powers expressly
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Implied Actual Authority (cont.)

For example, in Watteau v Fenwick, the new owners of a hotel employed the previous owner as the manager They expressly told him that he could not buy certain things, including cigars However, the manager bought cigars from a third party The third party sued the owners for payment as the manager was their agent
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Implied Actual Authority (cont.)

The court held that buying cigars was within the usual authority of the manager of a hotel If the owners wanted to limit the managers authority in buying things then they would have to tell third parties of the limits of his authority

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Apparent Authority

Apparent authority relates to agency created by estoppel Apparent authority occurs in 2 ways The first situation is where a person makes a representation to a third party that another person has their authority to act as their agent even though that person has not been appointed as their agent
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Apparent Authority (cont.)

In this situation, the person who makes the representation is bound by the actions of their apparent agent A person will also be liable if he knows that someone is claiming to be his agent, but he does nothing to stop that person

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Apparent Authority (cont.)

The second situation where apparent authority occurs is when a principal told a third party in the past that someone was his agent If the principal ends the agency but does not tell the third party, then he may still be liable for the actions of his former agent

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Relations with Third Parties

As mentioned already, the general rule is that any contract entered into by an agent is between the principal and the third party, even though it is arranged by the agent Therefore, only the principal can sue and be sued under that contract However, there are exceptions to this rule:
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Relations with Third Parties (cont.)

1.

Where the agent discloses the existence of the principal The agent does not have to disclose the principals name, only that he is an agent for a principal Here the general rule is that any contract entered into by an agent is between the principal and the third party, even though it is arranged by the agent Therefore, only the principal can sue and be sued under that contract

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Relations with Third Parties (cont.)

a)

b)

c)

Exceptions to this rule: Where the agent has expressly accepted liability with the principal in order to persuade the third party to make the contract By implication This usually happens where the agent signs the contract with the third party in his own name only instead of signing to show that he is acting on behalf of a principal Where the agent acts for a principal who does not exist
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Relations with Third Parties (cont.)

2.

Where the agent does not disclose the existence of a principal Again, the general rule still applies However, the third party can enforce the contract against the agent And the agent can enforce it against the third party The principal may also enforce the contract
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Summary

Definition:
An

agent is a person who is authorised to represent another person, who is called the principal. The agent creates a legal relationship between the principal and a third party.

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Summary (cont.)
The principal/agent relationship can be created in several ways Express Appointment Ratification Implication Necessity Estoppel
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Summary

An agents authority may be actual or apparent Actual authority may be express or implied Apparent authority comes from estoppel

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Summary (cont.)

The general rule is that an agent does not incur any rights and liabilities made under a contract on behalf of a principal However, there are exceptions to this particularly where the existence of the principal is not disclosed

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Reading

(MacIntyre) Pgs. 147-161 (Lien), 163 (Termination of Agency), 166 (Essential Points) (Kelly) Pgs. 283-293 (to Commercial Agents), 295-297 (to Payment), 297-299

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